India Warns Pakistan Against Kashmir Infiltration

15 October 2009IANS

Srinagar: India on Wednesday warned Pakistan against pushing infiltrators in Jammu and Kashmir saying such attempts will be dealt with firmly. 'Infiltrators will be caught and dealt with severely. We will have zero tolerance to violence in Jammu and Kashmir,' Union Home Minister P Chidambaram told reporters here at a press conference. He said Pakistan is training and abetting infiltration and India with its present policy will end militancy in Kashmir. The home minister said after the new government in Jammu and Kashmir and in New Delhi assumed powere there was a spurt in protests which subsequently died down. 'Some forces were trying to test the mettle of the new government. The government showed it can deal with it fairly and firmly,' he said. He said the Jammu and Kashmir police force is being retrained to handle civilian protest so that there is minimum casualty. 'In Kashmir we will consult all political groups through quiet talks,' Chidambaram said dwelling on his government's Kashmir policy. Speaking on northeast militancy he said talks with militant groups like ULFA (United Liberation Front of Ahom) can take place only if they lay down arms and shun the policy of secessionism. ' In Assam DHD-J (Dima Halam Daogah-Jewel) group has laid down arms. If ULFA lays down arms we will talk,' he said. The home minister said there is no grading between the terrorists, left wing extremists and northeast insurgents. To a question on China issuing visas to people from Kashmir on loose sheets, he said the ministry of external affairs has taken it up with the Chinese authorities. India has served a demarche to China earlier after it found that Indian nationals from Jammu and Kashmir were being issued Chinese visas on loose sheets of paper, and not on their passports issued by Indian authorities, virtually recognising them as non-Indians. He said regarding issuance of visas to Chinese workers, the same would be only for skilled workers and not for unskilled people. 'We don't need unskilled or semi-skilled workers,' he said.